The present invention relates to a robot apparatus used for the transfer of works, and a treating apparatus for treating the works in a vacuum state.
In the manufacture process in which a circuit pattern is formed on a work (e.g., a semiconductor wafer, or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a variety kinds of treatments must be executed.) A vacuum chamber is employed for the treatments.
A so-called multi-chamber system is known as a system that enables the work to be treated with high efficiency. According to this system, a number of treatment chambers are provided, and the treatments in the respective treatment chambers are executed simultaneously or sequentially.
According to the multi-chamber system, the work is treated as follows. A robot apparatus receives an untreated work from a supply section and transfers it to a treatment chamber. After the work is treated, the robot apparatus receives the work from the treatment chamber and then transfers it to another treatment chamber or conveys it to another treatment section.
In order to increase the productivity, the robot apparatus has to receive a work and transfer it to another section within a short time. Also, the robot apparatus has to be as small as possible.
In the case of the multi-chamber system described above, a number of treatment chambers and a number of load lock chambers are arranged around the robot apparatus in such a manner that they are spaced apart at the predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.
Since the treatment chambers have to be arranged at the predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, a useless space exists between the adjacent treatment chambers, and the entire installation space of the system is wide, accordingly. In addition, the fingers of the robot have to be rotated in a desired direction. Since this rotation requires a certain length of time, the overall tact time is inevitably long.